In a dramatic turn of events, the college football transfer portal just gained a former five-star recruit at quarterback.
On Saturday morning, Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava entered the transfer portal after reports of him and the Volunteers negotiating a new contract. When the two sides couldn’t agree and Iamaleava didn’t show up for practice, things turned sour in a hurry.
The former Tennessee quarterback was ranked No. 2 overall by 247Sports out of high school behind only Arch Manning. As a transfer, he’s the top ranked player in the portal and one analyst believes UNC would be a ‘wild card’ team for him.
According to Cameron Salerno from CBS Sports, wrote on potential destinations for the talented quarterback and included UNC.
“UNC could be a wild card team for Iamaleava. UNC’s Week 1 starter from last season, Max Johnson, is coming off a significant leg injury. He is one of three quarterbacks listed on UNC’s roster, alongside freshman Bryce Baker and Purdue transfer Ryan Browne.
The Tar Heels don’t have a clear starter heading into Week 1. Iamaleava would change that for first-year coach Bill Belichick. Adding Iamaleava would be a significant investment, but it could be worth the swing. It’s the kind of addition that could define Belichick’s college tenure.”
Chris Hummer of CBS Sports chimed in after Salerno and said, “Another school I’d maybe keep an eye on is North Carolina. They don’t have a 100 percent solved quarterback situation at the moment,” after mentioning that UCLA would also be a potential suitor.
There is no denying that the former five-star recruit has the talent to change the landscape of any team in college football. However, his price tag resembles that. It would take quite of bit of the Tar Heel’s boosted NIL contributions in order to bring in a quarterback of his caliber. At this point, it might be more worthwhile to invest fully in Bryce Baker. However, only time will tell.
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